The Calm Before The Storm

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~Chloe~

My mom lets the dog; a young female German Shepherd whose name I still don't know; inside to get acquainted with me and Max. "So... what's her name?" I ask as we all sit ourselves in the living room and start catching up. "Well," Joyce says, grabbing David's hands, "When we first found her... it was a few days after the storm. David and I... we... we thought that you had... passed and come back to us as a dog... as 'Blue'". The dog lifts her head at the call of her name, that's when I realize that she sports a bright blue collar... the same color my hair used to be. I smile, my eyes watering up a bit... Did they name the dog after me? Mom reaches over and grabs my hands, snapping me back into reality. "Enough about us, " she says, "Tell me about you two... are you seeing anyone?". Shit. We both tense up, making Blue alert. I risk a glance at Max as if to get her permission to answer. She nods slightly. "Uh... sorta " I say vaguely. Mom smiles, "Ooh, do tell," She says with excitement, "What's she like?". I can feel my face fry with embarrassment. I can tell that David really doesn't want to hear about my "Love Life" so he gets up to get himself a beer. "You girls want anything?" He asks. "Uh, no thanks" I reply. He turns to Max who shakes her head. David shrugs and continues his way to the kitchen. Once he's gone, I look back over at Max who somehow managed to hold my hand without anyone noticing. "Well, mom... she's absolutely amazing and I love her with all my heart...but uh.... I have to make sure it's okay with her before I say anything else about our relationship. Anyways, I kinda don't want David to know who it is yet". "Don't what me to about what?" David says as he returns and sits himself beside Joyce. "Uh... that Chloe and I are only going to be able to stay for a few weeks... not a whole month" Max say quickly, hoping he'll buy into the lie. He turns to Mom who nods in confirmation. "Oh.. well, that's alright. Just know that you're always welcome to stay here for as long as you please. This is your home". I smile, "Thanks, David...so, uh... Max and I are going to take our bags up to my room and chill for a bit. So.. I guess we'll see you later". I hug Mom, shake hands with David and start walking up the stairs with my bag, Max following close behind me. Blue tries to come with us but she sits at the base of the stairs when Max tells her to stay. "How'd you do that?" I ask. She shrugs, "I don't know... maybe I'm just good at telling people what to do". "Oh yeah, prove it!". Max smiles mischievously, "As you wish but first, can you open the door for me?". I nod and open the door, watching as she enters my room with a big smug ass grin plastered on her face. "Well, you gonna show me or not?" I ask. She giggles a bit and sets down her bags, "I just did". I facepalm for a second and close the door behind me, "I am so going to get you back for that," I say throwing my bags aside. My room hasn't changed all that much in the past year, everything looks exactly the same except that all our work into Rachael's disappearance has vanished. "Man," Max says, "It feels so weird being back, it's like..like,". "Like no time has passed?" I say, finishing her sentence. She nods, sitting on the edge of my bed. I sit with her and lay back, yawning as I do so. "Yeah, No time at all". I sigh and close my eyes, Man does it feel good to be home.